Racing from Digital Engagement to Customer Intimacy

Digital disruption is upending established business models across the spectrum, and banking is no exception.

At its core, the industry still provides savings and loans, but interaction has moved from a traditional, face-to-face, branch-based approach – based on cash, cheques and bank tellers – to a digital channels-dominated model, with real-time payments and communication based around integrated data and systems with rapid consumer adoption of mobile and digital platforms.

Retail banks are responding to these forces with different strategies. Some have patched their legacy IT systems and maintain a hybrid approach, reluctant for various reasons to completely overhaul the core architecture on which they built their businesses. Other new entrants and incumbents now facilitate and accelerate the provision of digital services via multiple channels in response to changing client needs, whatever and wherever those are. Another group has abandoned branches and embraced digital-only models.

All, though, share the goal of providing the most seamless services at the lowest price, to retain loyalty and win new business. And all are aware that providing clients with experience-rich banking and placing themselves alongside the customer always is essential for success.

However, banks must avoid past mistakes in their approach to core IT systems – patching over gaps in existing legacy systems and layering on top multiple “silo” solutions that are not integrated or that duplicate capabilities across different business units – to liberate front-end functions like marketing, sales and other communication services, and enable all channels to function effortlessly via a single command centre.

This paper explains how this new, unified command-center approach to banking works – switching the focus to the customer’s demands from the current, transaction-driven core model. Those who embrace this customer-centric, unified approach will thrive.